Coastal town flooding upon compound rainfall-wave overtopping-storm surge during extreme tropical cyclones in Hong Kong

Abstract

Study region: Hong Kong, China. Study focus: This paper aims to develop a flood analysis model to integrate the effects of multiple flooding triggers (i.e. rainfall, high sea levels and wave overtopping) during powerful tropical cyclones and investigate coastal flood hazards in an urban area at the street scale. The process of wave overtopping is properly estimated and integrated in a dual-drainage model in a maneuverable way as an inflow discharge hydrograph. The inundation during Typhoon Mangkhut, 2018, in Tseung Kwan O town center, a coastal community of Hong Kong, is taken as a case study. New hydrological insights for the region: The inundation scenario in Tseung Kwan O town center during Tyhpoon Mangkhut is reproduced and comparison between different drainage conditions demonstrates the key role of drainage facilities in the mitigation of flooding induced by wave overtopping, although the varying sea level boundary could partly reduce the drainage efficiency. In addition, possible flood scenarios and pedestrian stability in flowing water upon the unfavorable combination of storm surge and astronomical tide, as well as the effectiveness of a 1.1 m wave wall are evaluated. The overtopping discharge, flooding severity and dangerous zones for pedestrian can be markedly reduced by the wave wall.

Keywords

• Flood risk
• Wave overtopping
• Storm surge
• Tide
• Drainage
• Typhoon Mangkhut